Introduction

Sony's Budget Onslaught

To begin with, our HDTV review has nothing to do with King Arthur's trusty blade explicitly. If you were wondering, we thought the title was apt since the EX400 carries the same prefix as the mystical sword plucked from an unyielding stone. Question is, does this TV has what it takes to carve an impression like the legendary blade did? Or is it another one of those forgettable HDTV displays that's better off as a myth? We'll find out soon enough. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's look at the BRAVIA proper.

Sony has since unshackled the expensive and unattainable grip wrapped around their BRAVIA namesake. Launched in February this year, the 40-inch EX400 took to retail shelves together with the likes of its premium siblings such as the flagship NX series and the very affordable BX series. The EX range sits somewhere in between, and you can say that it contains all the right ingredients to make this display a worthy one. With an SRP of S$1,299, the humble price tag might probably come as a surprise to many. Don't be fooled by its inexpensive numbers though. This BRAVIA LCD TV packs a Full-HD panel along with basic features such as BRAVIA Sync, Ambient Sensor, Live Color and a Picture Frame mode. We'll elaborate more on these perks over at the next page.

For now, we'd like to add that the EX400 is powered by none other than Sony's BRAVIA Engine 3 image processor. According to the Japanese, their video engine is programmed with a proprietary color histogram technology to optimize the color distribution of each video frame. Of course, you won't find any online entertainment features (think BRAVIA Internet Video) or sexy Monolithic Designs like the NX800. However, we believe many consumers should be able to appreciate this lower-end BRAVIA for all that its worth, if it manages to prove its visual facilities. Let's not wait. It's about time we placed the EX400 under the knife.